I am a big fan of Cattex/Rifco's giant mouse ear balloon, but it can tricky to inflate.
Most "looner experts" recommend fully inflating the ears first, then the body. I've followed this advice for years; it works well until you try necking the balloon or re-inflating it a second time. The U-shaped section between the ears undergoes a lot of stress and can fail anytime.
Watching Anna Pop videos (us nonpoppers can learn alot from these videos), I've been inspired to go about it differently.
I first inflate the neck and give it a good stretch. One inflation is usually enough to loosen it up, but more could be better. Deflate the neck and then start inflating the body. After every 3 or 4 blows, push down on the body to force air into the ears. Keep doing it until the ears stay inflated. Then continue inflating the body and then the neck, stretching the neck every few breaths to keep it going.
The result is a huge mouse ear that I find is pretty stable. I tend to keep my balloons around for a few days, adding air every so often. I've even inflated mouse ears a second or third time using this approach. The trade-off is that the ears are not quite a large as in the ears-first method, but that also probably reduces the stress on the U section.
I would be curious to hear if other folks have tried something similar. Or try it out and report back. Happy looning.
Most "looner experts" recommend fully inflating the ears first, then the body. I've followed this advice for years; it works well until you try necking the balloon or re-inflating it a second time. The U-shaped section between the ears undergoes a lot of stress and can fail anytime.
Watching Anna Pop videos (us nonpoppers can learn alot from these videos), I've been inspired to go about it differently.
I first inflate the neck and give it a good stretch. One inflation is usually enough to loosen it up, but more could be better. Deflate the neck and then start inflating the body. After every 3 or 4 blows, push down on the body to force air into the ears. Keep doing it until the ears stay inflated. Then continue inflating the body and then the neck, stretching the neck every few breaths to keep it going.
The result is a huge mouse ear that I find is pretty stable. I tend to keep my balloons around for a few days, adding air every so often. I've even inflated mouse ears a second or third time using this approach. The trade-off is that the ears are not quite a large as in the ears-first method, but that also probably reduces the stress on the U section.
I would be curious to hear if other folks have tried something similar. Or try it out and report back. Happy looning.
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